Advisor to the KP Chief Minister on Finance Muzzammil Aslam, reacting to the current status of Pakistan’s Moody’s credit rating, said that Pakistan maintained a B3 Stable credit rating during the tenure of former Prime Minister Imran Khan from 2018 to 2022. However, he said that the country’s credit rating began to decline in June 2022 during the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government.
Muzzammil Aslam said that within just one year, Pakistan’s credit rating fell by four notches, reaching Caa3 in February 2023. He noted that Caa3 is considered a category associated with an extremely high risk of default. According to him, it took Pakistan three and a half years to return to the B3 credit rating level, and the country’s rating has now once again reached B3.
The KP Finance Adviser said that throughout this period, the people of Pakistan faced historically high levels of inflation, unemployment and poverty. He said that a large number of Pakistanis were compelled to leave the country in search of better employment opportunities abroad, which, he added, reflected the difficult economic conditions prevailing in the country.
Muzzammil Aslam said it was surprising that the Prime Minister was congratulating his team on what was being described as an economic achievement, despite the severe economic challenges faced by the country during this period.
He said the government needed to apologize to the nation for the extremely difficult situation into which the country’s economy had been pushed.
The KP Finance Adviser also criticized the role of the media, saying that the media should present the complete picture of the country’s economic situation to the public. Unfortunately, he said, the current economic situation was being presented as a major achievement of the government rather than being reported in its complete historical and economic context.